6. Eat healthy – Eat foods that bring you energy, and avoid sugary foods and drinks. Sugar intake can send your body on a blood-sugar roller coaster, which can result in drastic drops in mood and energy. If your energy and mood are already crashing, you are not going to deal well with new demands or unexpected events.
7. Relaxation – Schedule regular times for stress reducing activities such as meditation, yoga, and/or down time. Visit somewhere you love and find relaxing (for me this is the beach or mountains). If you can’t physically get there, listening to nature sounds via a sound machine or app can also induce relaxation.
8. Exercise – Exercising produces endorphins which improve your mood and reduce stress. Even a walk around the neighbourhood can be beneficial. Incorporate fresh air or music for an added uplift.
9. Connect — Increase meaningful connections with positive friends, family, neighbours and community (passionate causes or volunteering). Even during lock-down, you can still catch up with a friend or family member via a video or phone call, and then make plans to catch up face-to-face when feasible.
10. Medical Check-up – If you are regularly feeling down, low energy, or stressed, please see your GP. They can provide support and also check if any deficiencies may be contributing. A simple blood test can check your hormone levels, thyroid function, and identify if you are low in important vitamins (D) or minerals (iron). If you live in a “grey” climate (less sunshine) in winter, vitamin D levels should be checked in both summer and winter.
What to do when stress arises
Despite your best efforts to reduce demands and stress triggers from your environment, inevitably stress will arise at times, as we cannot completely control or eliminate it. The good news is that there is a very quick, easy and effective way to reduce your feelings of stress. Breathe!
Breathing is one of the quickest and most effective ways to reduce stress.
With approximately one minute of simple, deep breathing, you can effectively turn off the stress response in your body (physiologically), slowing your breathing and heart rate, decreasing your blood pressure, relaxing your muscles, and moving into a relaxed state. One of the easiest breathing techniques is the 5-5-7 method. Simply breathe in deeply through your nose while you count to five, then hold the breath while you count to 5, then exhale slowly through your nose while you count to seven. Doing this five times takes ~45 seconds, and ten times is ~90 seconds. For some other great ways to relieve stress when you are feeling it, please see my Top 10 Tips for Relieving Stress.
Originally published here.
Steph Sullivan is a dual certified Life and Health Coach and founder of Elevate Your Life Coaching PTY LTD. After 23 years in demanding, high-stress corporate roles as a business consultant then a corporate executive, now Steph’s purpose is helping people to reduce stress and increase energy to achieve their personal goals and life ambitions. You can find her on Facebook and LinkedIn.
